Marin water crunch was eased by late winter, spring rains

The topsy-turvy rainy season in Marin is ending on an up note, meaning water supplies for most of the county are in good shape as summer approaches.

"We are in a lot better shape than we were a few months ago," said Libby Pischel, spokeswoman for the county's largest water agency, the Marin Municipal Water District. "The reservoirs have come up nicely."

The year 2013 saw the smallest about of rainfall recorded for a calendar year in Marin: 10.68 inches at Lake Lagunitas, where the water district — which has data dating to 1879 — keeps its official weather gauge. The previous record low was set in 1929 when 19.06 inches of rain fell.

January only had .01 of an inch of rain, another all-time low. And as February began, Marin was in the grips of a full-on drought. There were rumblings of mandated conservation as the district's reservoirs appeared to be heading below 40,000 acre feet, which would have triggered the action on April 1. A 25 percent voluntary cut was implemented by the district.

But on Feb. 2 the rains came. And they kept on coming.

On Feb. 1 the rainfall since July 1, 2013, was stuck at 3.80 inches. Since then an astounding 28.79 inches of rain has been recorded, bringing the total to 32.59 inches.

While not enough to completely wipe out the deficit brought on by the dry early winter — average rainfall for this time of year is a touch beyond 47 inches — it has provided breathing room for the county.

This week the district's reservoirs have 64,578 acre-feet of water, which is 81 percent of capacity. One acre foot is 325,851 gallons. The average for this time of year is 91 percent.

"And people are doing a great job of conserving," Pischel noted.

This year people are using an average of 83.60 gallons of water per day. A year ago it was 102.32 gallons. The district has 190,000 customers between Sausalito and San Rafael.

The district has not lifted its call for a 25 percent voluntary cutback, but that will be looked at in the coming months if more rain arrives.

"Historically, we get 5 to 6 inches from now to July 1," Pischel noted.

In response to the drought, the district started pumping water out of Phoenix Lake, a reserve reservoir. But the practice stopped as rains filled reservoirs, including Phoenix.

In Novato, the North Marin Water District has not implemented mandatory water use restrictions, although it is asking for a voluntary reductions. It has recorded 12.49 inches at its Stafford Lake reservoir since July 1. On average 19.46 inches would have fallen by this time of year.

Some rural water districts in West Marin, which rely largely on groundwater, were set to implement mandatory conservation measures this spring. But plans in one district have been put on hold because of the recent rains. The Stinson Beach County Water District was ready to begin in April and had a communitywide plan in place, but that has been pushed back to May, and might not be implemented then.

"It could be moved back further," said Ed Schmidt, general manager of the Stinson Beach district, which has 726 water hookups. "The board will decide."

The district has logged 25 inches of rain, which is about 80 percent of normal.

"We have caught up a bit and there could be more rain," Schmidt said. "We will have to see."

Diane Henderson of the National Weather Service said more rain before summer is a possibility, but not over the next 10 days.

"We may get some coastal drizzle, but that's about it," said she said. "The spring rains were a pleasant surprise though."